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Canadian Family Physician•Le Médecin de famille canadien Vol 55: july • juillet 2009Genetics
Genetics
Prostate cancer
Sean M. Blaine
MDChristina Honeywell
MScJudith Allanson
MDCarol Cremin
MScHeather Dorman
MScClare A. Gibbons
MSWendy S. Meschino
MDJoanne Permaul June C. Carroll
MDT
he genetic basis of prostate cancer is complex and there are likely many different genes that modify risk. A major prostate cancer susceptibility gene has not yet been identified, but areas in the genome that might harbour prostate cancer–related genes are being investigated. Several studies show that 3 adjacent regions on chromosome 8 are asso- ciated with increased prostate cancer risk.1Bottom line. None of the candidate genes is individually associated with a high risk of pros- tate cancer predisposition. It is likely that multiple genes contribute to the risk. At present, clinical genetic testing for inherited prostate cancer sus- ceptibility is not available.
The complete Gene Messenger—Prostate Cancer by the GenetiKit research team is available on CFPlus.* Past Gene Messenger articles can be accessed on-line at www.cfp.ca. On the home page, click on Collections in the left-hand menu, then click on Genetics.
Competing interests None declared
The GenetiKit research team, a group of family physicians, genetic counselors and geneticists, designed the Gene Messenger series to pro- vide practical information to help family physicians and their patients make informed choices about rapidly emerging genetic discoveries. The series is a collection of up-to-date, definitive, short reviews on genetics topics that have made headlines, and offers recommendations regard- ing referral for genetic services or testing.
Acknowledgment
Funding was provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Reference
1. Gudmundsson J, Sulem P, Manolescu A, Amundadottir LT, Gudbjartsson D, Helgason A, et al. Genome-wide association study identifies a second pros- tate cancer susceptibility variant at 8q24. Nat Genet 2007;39(5):631-7. Epub 2007 Apr 1.
CFPlus
GOThe English translation of this article, is available at www.cfp.ca. Click on CFPlus to the right of the article or abstract.
*The Gene Messenger on prostate cancer is available at www.cfp.ca. Go to the full text of this article on-line, then click on CFPlus in the menu at the top right- hand side of the page.
GENE MESSENGER
For more information on genetics topics, see www.mtsinai.on.ca/FamMedGen/
